It rained nearly all day today here in Central Florida. It’s funny the things you think about when it rains. Today I was thinking about how one single person can leave a mark on the world and accomplish nearly impossible things. I thought of Stan Lee today.

As many of you know, Stan Lee is going to be 90 years old this December. The legend goes that for over 20 years, starting at about 1963, Stan wrote one copy book a day. It’s amazing when you really stop and think about it. Stan Lee touched the lives of millions of people.

With the help of Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby, Stan created a long list of comic book heroes; Spider-Man, Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor, the entire X-Men gang, and a host of other super heroes.

Stan Lee also wrote hundreds upon hundreds of other comic books, outside the super hero genre. For many years he wrote comic books about the wild west, love stories, army war stories and many other themes.

He wasn’t born with a golden spoon, just a good mind and a whole lot of determination. It’s been said by many people in the comic book industry (artists, writers, and editors) that nothing could sway Stan Lee from the fierce determination he had to be a big success in the comic book business.

Sometimes when I’m faced with a string of rejection slips from stories I’ve submitted, or a newspaper editor is giving me a hard time, I think about Stan Lee and his legendary and fiery determination. In many ways, Stan Lee himself is a super hero.

I felt led to write about determination today, not lukewarm determination, but fiery bulldog determination. The stuff that gives you the courage to carry on toward your goal, even after dealing with a lot of setbacks and rejections. The kind of fiery determination that Stan Lee had and still does have!

If you’re faced with a set back, or someone is giving you a hard time at work, or if you just got passed up for a promotion at work, or you just feel like giving up on fulfilling a goal that is near and dear to your heart; please dig deep within yourself and rise above these temporary setbacks.